Summary of "LIVE | Adam „Nolly“ Getgood – Bass, Sound & Gear | Dingwall Workshop @ Thomann"

Overview

A packed, live Dingwall/Thomann clinic where Adam “Nolly” Getgood (Periphery alum; producer/mixer) alternates between playing full songs and walking the audience through the bass, tone and mixing choices that create his “Nolly sound.” The session mixes on‑stage demos, hands‑on setup and picking technique tips, candid studio workflow talk, and an extended audience Q&A — with plenty of humor, practical tricks and surprise moments.

Standout performances / moments

Adam opens with an isolated bass intro played live — his first time performing that Periphery track solo; the bass‑led intro was nervy and cool.
Several songs were demonstrated with commentary on tricky parts and approach:
- Periphery tune with the tapping section (he admits this is the hardest part to play live).
- “Marigold” — timing in 7/4 and odd phrase management.
- “Prayer Position” — his larger writing contribution for Periphery; triplet feel issues.
- “Make Total Destroy” — slap/pop elements.
- SikTh tunes (“Summer Rain,” “Way Beyond the Fond River”) — show influence and technique variety.
Audience interaction was lively: frequent applause, chant moments (“Heat!”), and on‑the‑spot demos driven by questions.

Gear & tone highlights

Dingwall multiscale / “Novak” layout:
- Longer lower‑string scale and fan‑fret design produce a more open, brighter low end.
- Allows lighter string gauges for deep tunings while keeping clarity.
Signal chain notes:
- Original Periphery bass tone was largely “in the box” — Darkglass pre/distortion (and early B7K mention) → DI into Cubase → mix tweaks.
- Live/modern approach: captured Darkglass Atom pedal tone on a Neural DSP Quad Cortex (captures distortion + multiband behavior) plus outboard/plug‑in compression.
Picks:
- Favors thin, flexible picks for deeper pick depth, flex and a percussive, scraped‑into‑the‑string attack that shapes his tone.
Strings / gauges:
- Prefers lighter gauges on multiscale instruments to keep the bottom clear and articulate rather than muddy; uses custom choices per tuning.

Playing & setup tips (practical, repeatable)

Low action without buzz:
- Hold down the 1st and 16th frets and pluck the isolated section — aim for the lowest action that doesn’t buzz. He likes a little metallic rebound for percussive attack.
Pick depth concept:
- Bury a flexible pick into the string then let it flex out to create a short scrape/silence before the note. That “pick gap” affects groove (you may strike slightly ahead of the beat while the note releases later).
Rest‑stroke / buried pick for attack:
- Pick like “shaking water off your hand,” with a rest‑stroke approach and significant buried pick depth for consistent attack.
Slap/pop technique:
- Learned some slap on guitar and adapted it to bass; he covers practical hand positions and how to switch pick ↔ slap in performance.
Hand synchronization and speed:
- Train hand sync at slow tempos until muscle memory is clean. Don’t practice fast while making mistakes — slow, precise repetition wins.

Mixing, production & studio philosophy

Layers:
- Modern heavy productions can have dozens to hundreds of tracks; he condenses layers where possible to keep mixes manageable.
Depth vs. space:
- Depth = presence of very quiet background elements you can still hear; reverb alone isn’t depth. Prefers delay → reverb routing and careful layering rather than obvious ambient reverb everywhere.
Compression / dynamics:
- Uses substantial compression to bring sustain and harmonics forward so bass cuts through.
- On the mix bus: get balance first, then gentle glue with slower attack and softer knee instead of aggressive fast bus smashing.
Low‑end reinforcement:
- Rarely layers a synth‑sub under bass live. Focuses on performance consistency, DI clarity, multiband/parallel compression and gentle high‑passing of the DI to avoid muddiness while preserving a big low end.
Phase and alignment:
- Watch for phase cancellation when layering subs. Recommends tools like Sound Radix Pi for alignment and dynamic EQs/resonance tools (Oeksound/Bloom/Soothe‑type tools) to tame issues.
Workflow note:
- Practices a lot on his own music / mini mix tests rather than only doing client work — consistent practice builds a portfolio.

Career, practice & composition advice

Path and portfolio:
- His path was unusual — touring/recording with Periphery opened doors to mixing/production. He stresses luck + opportunity and recommends focusing on quality over quantity when building a portfolio.
Composition tip:
- Start big‑picture (sketch the song’s arc/intent) rather than over‑detailing each section from the start.
- Break odd time signatures into familiar groupings (e.g., 5 = 2+3) to make them manageable.
Practice tip:
- Focus on clean repetition and learning tough spots rather than ramming through whole parts poorly. Record yourself and fix tiny inconsistencies.

Funny / character moments

Self‑referential “the Nollie sound” joke at the intro.
Quips and metaphors:
- “Compression is like butter in cooking — unhealthy but so good.”
- Described bass work as “carpentry” (practical, precise, supportive) rather than sculptural showmanship — the image landed with the crowd.
Audience‑driven laugh lines and on‑the‑fly banter (for example: “you’ve done everything — maybe you just need to mess it up”).

“Compression is like butter in cooking — unhealthy but so good.” Bass work described as “carpentry” — practical and supportive.

Memorable Q&A takeaways (rapid)

Reverb:
- Use it intentionally, often after delay; avoid reverb that makes a mix “cloudy.”
Scale length:
- Very beneficial on bass/five‑strings for clarity and usable low tunings; on guitar be more conservative unless doing very low 7/8‑string work.
Mix bus:
- Get balance first, use softer‑knee compression/glue and multi‑stage saturation/clipping for character.
Dense mixes:
- Control dynamics aggressively (pin/limit/compress) so elements remain audible. Use side‑chain or multiband ducking to carve space for critical elements.

People mentioned / on stage

Adam “Nolly” Getgood — main presenter, player, mixer
Thomann host / introducer — opens the session
Misha — Periphery songwriter/producer; mentioned often
Philip — sound desk / engineer (brief reference)
Pin — guitarist from SikTh; taught Adam slap on guitar
Audience members — questions and on‑stage volunteers

Bottom line

Part demo‑concert, part masterclass: Adam delivers tangible, repeatable advice for bass setup, picking technique and tone while unpacking real mixing tactics for dense modern productions. The session balances solid technical depth with entertaining live playing, good jokes and a practical, “doable” approach for players and engineers.